The Easy Study Bible Diagramed: Vol. II Acts through Revelation

By Trennis Killian

Now there is a Bible translation that is easy to read, understand, and study.

This translation is unique in that it is arranged in a diagram form, which allows for easy identification of each of the points being made in any passage.

Good for Bible Study, sermon preparation, or just easy reading for understanding the Bible.

The entire New Testament has now been released.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trennis E. Killian
• Release date: Nov 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466003149

Trennis Killian

Trennis E. Killian has been an Army Medic, high school English teacher, pastor, hospital chaplain, crisis counselor, police chaplain, and pastoral counselor. All of these occupations have helped him to understand how men and women build and keep relationships. He also knows how they repair or destroy those relationships. He has also observed how people interact in all kinds of situations. They also give him firsthand knowledge of how people live and act within each of those types of situations. He writes in all of the following areas: Bible study, Self-Help, Crisis Preparation, and Christian oriented novels. To be able to write so many different kinds of books, he has spent years of intensive study of Greek, an earned doctorate in counseling, and worked in many different occupations. He writes all of his novels under the name T. E. Killian. Because of his varied education and experience, his characters take on the characteristics and personalities of people who work in all of the occupations he knows so well. Having been in many crisis situations over the past thirty plus years, he can write about them realistically. He and his wife, Ann, live in Black Canyon City, Arizona, where he writes fulltime.

Book preview

This edition of the Easy Study Bible translation is in paragraph form, which is basically what most other Bibles are.

The following is a description of the diagramed version which is also available.

The Easy Study Bible translation, is the result of my twenty-six years in the Gospel Ministry, and from being a high school English teacher before that.

Many times over my early years as a pastor, I would grow frustrated in my efforts to teach the Bible for understanding to church members who didn't understand the basics of Hebrew and Greek. True, some passages jump out at anyone reading them, no matter which translation they use. My goal has always been that all who read the Bible would not only understand it the way God intended for them to, but also to be able to apply each truth to their lives. That, I think, takes greater understanding.

When I began teaching a Pastor's Sunday School Class in the early 1990s, I searched for a way to help my class understand better. I felt this was important since the class started out as a New Members Class. Too many new Christians become frustrated at their first attempts to study the Bible.

Well, the answer came to me from my English teacher background. Do you remember when you had to diagram sentences in your English classes? Please don't run away screaming yet! I know. They were usually painful experiences. I felt the same way when I was a student.

If you can get past the painful memories, please think about the finished product. Once you diagramed a long complicated sentence, it became much more clear to you. You could understand what was modifying what, and what the action was and what or who was causing it. In other words, it made the sentence much more understandable.

That is what I began to do with the Bible passages we studied in that class. I took the principles of the sentence diagram and adjusted it to fit verses of the Bible. Immediately, the whole class began to gain a better understanding of each passage we studied.

Over the years since then, I have used this method constantly, not only in small group studies, but also in church Bible studies with great success.

One benefit that I didn't expect is that this method helps tremendously in sermon preparation. When I begin to prepare a sermon, I take the focal passage and diagram it. This allows me to see how the verses naturally (the way I think God intended) fall into separate thoughts. Many times, this process will give me all the points of the outline without trying to make the passage say what it does not say.

Now, let's look at this project. Do we need another translation of the Bible? In a word, No!

I have long admired the Wycliffe Bible Translators whose goal is to translate the Bible into every language of the world so all will have the opportunity to read God's message to them. I've also admired the Gideons International whose goal is to place a Bible in every hand in the world.

My goal is a combination of the goals of the Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Gideons International. I want to take God's word and make it easier for everyone to read and understand.

Now, here is why we need a new translation of the Bible. Simply put, the major Bible publishers do not seem to be interested in a Bible version which is diagramed. Therefore, to avoid infringing on any existing copyrights, I had to start with my own translation.

You will find The Easy Study Bible translation to be as close to literal as possible while still preserving proper English grammatical structure. This is important to me. I find that many of the modern translations, especially ones that are more literal, are clumsy at best and grammatically inaccurate at worst.

James Free!

In order to give everyone an opportunity to sample the Easy Study Bible before purchasing it, the book of James will be available in E-Book version free. It will be available on my webpage, and other online distributors.

The book of James will soon be included in a new release, which will also contain 1 Peter and 2 Peter.

I want to hear from you as you use the Easy Study Bible translation. If you have suggestions, corrections, or any comments, please email me at [e-mail].

How to Use the Easy Study Bible

You may read the Easy Study Bible it the same way you would any other Bible. Each of the releases will have a paragraph version in the back of the book.

The Easy Study Bible is most effective when used as a study tool. This is where the structure of the diagram allows for better understanding of each passage that you study.

I will use James 4:7-8 to illustrate how to do several of the actions that were mentioned in the introduction.

⁷ Therefore,

submit to God.

Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.

⁸ Draw near to God

and He will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands,

sinners,

and purify your hearts

you double-minded.

First, if I were writing a sermon on this passage, I can immediately see the perfect three-point sermon in it.

I. Submit to God

II. Resist the Devil

III. Draw Near to God

Notice how easy that was. Next I would flesh out point II. a little.

II. Resist the Devil

He will flee from you

Next, point III.

III. Draw Near to God

He will draw near to you

How do we do this?

Cleanse our hands

Purify our hearts

You can easily see how to continue from there.

Second, for those who want to get to the full meaning of the passage, they can easily answer the following questions from the diagram:

1. What is the subject of this passage?

Submission to God

2. How do we do this?

Resist the Devil

Draw near to God

3. What will be the result of this action?

The devil will flee from you.

God will draw near to you.

Do you get the idea? It's easy and fun to study the Bible, especially when you understand it better each time you do.

Try it out, and if you discover new and different ways to use the Easy Study Bible, please let me know so I can share them with others.

My webpage will have a whole section devoted to the Easy Study Bible, and one page will be dedicated to reader feedback. There will also be a page of Hints & Tips.

http://www.trenniskillian.com

* * * * * * *

Acts

Outline

Chapter One

The Holy Spirit Promised 4-8

The Ascension 9-14

Matthias Chosen 15-26

Chapter Two

Pentecost 1-13

Peter's Sermon 14-40

The Early Church 41-47

Chapter Three

Peter Heals the Lame Man 1-11

Peter's Second Sermon 12-26

Chapter Four

Peter and John Arrested 1-4

Peter Preaches to the Sanhedrin 5-12

Sanhedrin Commands Peter to Preach No More 13-23

Apostles' Prayer for Boldness 23-31

The Church Sharing 32-37

Chapter Five

Ananias and Sapphira Lie to the Holy Spirit 1-11

Miracles through the Apostles 12-15

Apostles Freed from Prison 17-32

Gamaliel's Advice 33-42

Chapter Six

Seven Chosen to Serve 1-7

Stephen Accused of Blasphemy 8-15

Chapter Seven

Stephen Addresses the Council 1-60

Chapter Eight

Saul Persecutes the Church 1-3

Philip in Samaria 4-26

Philip Witnesses to the Ethiopian Eunuch 26-40

Chapter Nine

The Damascus Road 1-9

Saul's Baptism 10-19

Saul Preaches at Damascus 20-25

Saul in Jerusalem 26-31

Healing Aeneas 32-35

Peter Raises Dorcas 36-43

Chapter Ten

Cornelius' Vision 1-8

Peter's Vision 9-16

Peter Visits Cornelius 17-33

Good News for the Gentiles 34-43

Gentiles Converted and Baptized 44-48

Chapter Eleven

Peter Defends Gentile Salvation 1-18

The Church in Antioch 19-30

Chapter Twelve

James Killed and Peter Jailed 1-5

Peter Rescued 6-19

Herod Blasphemes and Dies 20-25

Chapter Thirteen

Barnabas and Saul Sent from Antioch 1-13

Paul's Sermon in Antioch of Pisidia 14-41

Paul and Barnabas in Antioch 42-52

Chapter Fourteen

Growth and Persecution in Iconium 1-7

Mistaken for Gods in Lystra 8-18

Paul Is Stoned 19-28

Chapter Fifteen

Debate over Gentiles Keeping the Law 1-5

The Jerusalem Counsel 6-21

Letter to the Gentile Believers 22-29

Results of the Letter 30-35

Paul and Barnabas Separate over John Mark 36-41

Chapter Sixteen

Paul Selects Timothy 1-10

Lydia's Conversion 11-15

Paul and Silas in Prison 16-24

Philippian Jailer Converted 25-34

Paul Released from Prison 35-40

Chapter Seventeen

Thessalonica 1-9

The Beroeans Receive the Word 10-15

Paul's Sermon on Mars Hill 16-34

Chapter Eighteen

Corinth 1-17

Return Trip to Antioch 18-28

Chapter Nineteen

Disciples of John Receive the Holy Spirit 1-20

The Riot in Ephesus 21-41

Chapter Twenty

Paul in Macedonia 1-6

Eutychus Revived at Troas 7-12

Farewell Address to the Ephesian Elders 13-38

Chapter Twenty-One

Paul Is Warned about Jerusalem 1-14

Conflict over the Gentile Mission 15-25

Paul's Arrest 26-39

Paul's Defense before the Jerusalem Mob 40

Chapter Twenty-Two

Paul's Testimony 6-29

Paul before the Sanhedrin 30

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Plot against Paul 12-22

Paul's Rescue 23-35

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Accusation against Paul 1-9

Paul's Defense before Felix 10-27

Chapter Twenty-Five

Paul Is Tried before Festus 1-9

Paul Appeals to Caesar 10-12

King Agrippa and Bernice Visit Festus 13-22

Paul before Agrippa 23-27

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sailing for Rome 1-38

Shipwreck 39-44

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Paul's Witness on Malta 1-15

Paul's Witness in Rome 16-31

Acts in Diagram Form

Chapter One

¹ The former account

I made,

Theophilus,

about all that Jesus began

to do

and teach,

² until the day He was taken up,

after He had given orders

through the Holy Spirit

to the apostles

whom He had chosen.

³ After His suffering,

He also presented Himself

alive

to these

by many convincing proofs,

appearing to them

over a period of forty days

and speaking of the things

concerning the kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit Promised

⁴ While He was with them,

He commanded them

not to leave Jerusalem,

but to wait for the Father's promise

Which,

He said,

"you heard of from Me;

⁵ for John baptized

with water,

but you will be baptized

with the Holy Spirit

not many days from now."

⁶ So

when they came together,

they asked Him,

"Lord,

at this time

are You restoring the kingdom

to Israel?"

⁷ He said

to them,

"It is not for you to know times or dates

that the Father has set

by His own authority.

⁸ But you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,

and you will be My witnesses

in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the end of the earth."

The Ascension

⁹ After He said these things,

He was taken up

while they were watching,

and a cloud received Him

out of their sight.

¹⁰ They were looking

intently

into the sky

as He was going,

suddenly two men

in white clothing

stood by them.

¹¹ They said,

"Men of Galilee,

why do you stand

looking into the sky?

This Jesus,

who has been taken up

from you

into heaven,

will come

in the same way

that you have seen Him go

into heaven."

¹² Then they returned

to Jerusalem

from the mount called Olivet,

which is near Jerusalem,

a Sabbath day's journey away.

¹³ When they arrived,

they went

up

to the upper room

where they were staying;

that is, Peter, John, James and Andrew,

Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew,

James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,

and Judas the son of James.

¹⁴ All these,

with one mind,

were continually devoting themselves

to prayer,

along with the women,

including Mary the mother of Jesus,

and His brothers.

Matthias Chosen

¹⁵ In those days,

Peter stood up

among the brothers

(a group of about one hundred and twenty persons),

and said,

¹⁶ "Brothers,

the Scripture

had to be fulfilled

that the Holy Spirit spoke

before

by the mouth of David,

concerning Judas,

who became a guide

to those

who arrested Jesus.

¹⁷ "For he was one of our number

and he obtained a share

in this ministry."

¹⁸ This man bought a field

with the reward

of his wickedness,

and falling headfirst,

he burst open

in the middle

and all his intestines gushed out.

¹⁹ And it became known

to all who lived in Jerusalem,

so that in their own language

that field was called Hakeldama,

that is,

Field of Blood.

²⁰ "For it is written

in the book of Psalms,

'Let his dwelling become desolate,

and let no one dwell in it';

and, 'Let another man take his position.'

²¹ "Therefore, it is necessary

that of the men

who have accompanied us

all the time

that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--

²² beginning with the baptism of John

until the day that He was taken up from us—

one of these must become a witness

of His resurrection

with us."

²³ So they proposed two men,

Joseph called Barsabbas,

who was also called Justus,

and Matthias.

²⁴ Then they prayed

and said,

"You,

Lord,

who know the hearts of all men,

show which one

of these two

You have chosen

²⁵ to occupy this ministry and apostleship

from which Judas left

to go to his own place."

26 Then they cast lots

for them,

and the lot fell to Matthias.

He was added to the eleven apostles.

Chapter Two

Pentecost

¹ When the day of Pentecost came,

they were all together

in one place.

² Suddenly,

a sound

like a violent rushing wind

came from heaven,

and it filled the whole house

where they were sitting.

³ Tongues

as of fire

that were divided

appeared to them,

and rested on each one of them.

⁴ They were all filled

with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak

with other tongues,

as the Spirit was giving them words.

⁵ There were Jews

living in Jerusalem,

devout men

from every nation under heaven.

⁶ When this sound occurred,

the multitude came together,

and was confused

because each one of them

was hearing them speaking

in his own language.

⁷ They were amazed and astonished,

saying,

"Look,

are not all these

who are speaking

Galileans?

⁸ "How is it

that we each hear them

in our own native language?

⁹ "Parthians,

Medes,

Elamites,

and those living in

Mesopotamia,

Judea,

Cappadocia,

Pontus,

and Asia,

¹⁰ Phrygia

and Pamphylia,

Egypt

and the districts

of Libya

around Cyrene,

and visitors from Rome,

both Jews and proselytes,

¹¹ Cretans and Arabs-

we hear them speaking

in our own tongues

of the wonders of God."

¹² And they all were amazed and perplexed,

saying

to one another,

What does this mean?

¹³ But others were mocking

and saying,

They are full of new wine.

Peter's Sermon

¹⁴ But Peter,

stood up

with the eleven,

raised his voice

and spoke

to them:

"Jewish men

and all you

who live in Jerusalem,

let this be known

to you

and give heed to my words.

¹⁵ These men are not drunk,

as you suppose,

for it is only the third hour of the day,

¹⁶ but this is what was spoken

through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ 'And it shall be in the last days,'

God says,

'I will pour out My Spirit

on all flesh;

and your sons and your daughters

shall prophesy,

and your young men

will see visions,

and your old men

will dream dreams.

¹⁸ I will pour forth my spirit

on My male and female slaves

in those days,

and they will prophesy.

¹⁹ I will show wonders

in the sky above

and signs

on the earth below:

blood,

fire,

and a cloud of smoke.

²⁰ The sun

will be turned into darkness

and the moon

into blood,

before the great and glorious day

of the Lord

will come.

²¹ It will be

that whoever calls on the name

of the Lord

will be saved.'

²² Men of Israel,

listen to these words:

Jesus the Nazarene,

a man attested to you

by God

with miracles, wonders and signs

which God performed

through Him

in your midst,

just as you yourselves know.

²³ This One,

delivered over

by the plan

and foreknowledge

of God,

you nailed to a cross

by the hands of lawless men

and put Him to death.

²⁴ God raised Him up,

ending the pains of death,

because it was not possible

for Him to be held by it.

²⁵ For David says

of Him,

'I saw the Lord

always before me;

because He is at my right hand,

so that I will not be shaken.

²⁶ 'Therefore,

my heart was glad

and my tongue rejoiced.

Moreover,

my flesh will also live

in hope,

²⁷ because you will not

leave my soul

in Hades,

nor allow Your Holy One

to see decay.

²⁸ 'You made known

to me

the ways of life.

You will fill me

with gladness

in Your presence.'

²⁹ Brothers,

I may confidently speak

to you

about the patriarch David,

that he both died and was buried,

and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰ Therefore,

being a prophet,

and knowing

that God had sworn an oath

to him

to seat one of his descendants

on his throne,

³¹ he looked ahead and spoke

about the resurrection

of the Christ,

that He was neither left in Hades,

nor did His flesh suffer decay.

³² This Jesus,

God raised up,

of which we are all witnesses.

³³ Therefore,

having been exalted

to the right hand of God,

and having received the promise

of the Holy Spirit

from the Father,

He has poured out this

which you now see and hear.

³⁴ For it was not David

who ascended into the heavens,

but he himself says:

'The Lord said

to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

³⁵ until I make Your enemies a footstool

for Your feet.'

³⁶ Therefore,

let all the house of Israel know

for certain

that God has made this Jesus,

whom you crucified,

both Lord and Christ."

³⁷ Now,

when they heard this,

they were pierced

to the heart,

and said

to Peter and the rest of the apostles,

"Brothers,

what shall we do?"

³⁸ Peter said

to them,

"Repent,

and each of you be baptized

in the name of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness of your sins,

and you will receive the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹ "For the promise is for you

and your children,

and for all who are far off,

as many as the Lord our God will call."

⁴⁰ And with many other words

he earnestly testified

and was exhorting them,

saying,

Be saved from this corrupt generation!

The Early Church

⁴¹ So those

who had welcomed his word

were baptized,

and that day there were added

about three thousand souls.

⁴² They were continually devoting themselves

to the teaching

of the apostles,

to fellowship,

to the breaking

of bread,

and to prayers.

⁴³ Then fear came over everyone,

and many wonders and signs

were being done

through the apostles.

⁴⁴ All the believers

were together

and had all things in common;

⁴⁵ They began selling their property and possessions

and were sharing them

with all,

as anyone might have need.

⁴⁶ Day by day,

continuing with one mind,

in the temple,

and breaking bread from house to house,

they were taking their meals together

with gladness and simplicity of heart,

⁴⁷ praising God

and having favor

with all the people.

And the Lord was adding

to their number

daily

those who were being saved.

Chapter Three

Peter Heals the Lame Man

¹ Now Peter and John

were going up

to the temple

at the ninth hour,

the hour of prayer.

² A man

who had been lame

from his mother's womb

was being carried along,

whom they placed

every day

at the gate of the temple called Beautiful,

in order to beg alms

of those

who were entering the temple.

³ When he saw Peter and John

about to enter the temple,

he began asking to receive alms.

⁴ Peter,

along with John,

looked intently on him

and said,

Look at us!

⁵ He gave them his attention,

expecting to receive something

from them.

⁶ But Peter said,

"I do not have silver and gold,

but what I have

I give to you:

In the name of Jesus Christ

the Nazarene,

walk!"

⁷ Taking him by the right hand,

he raised him up

and immediately his feet

and his ankles

were strengthened.

⁸ Leaping,

he stood

and began

to walk,

and entered the temple

with them,

walking,

leaping,

and praising God.

⁹ All the people saw him

walking and praising God,

¹⁰ and they recognized him

as being the one

who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate

of the temple

to beg alms.

They were filled

with wonder and amazement

at what had happened

to him.

¹¹ While he was holding on to Peter and John,

all the people,

greatly amazed,

ran together

to them

at what is called Solomon's Colonnade.

Peter's Second Sermon

¹² When Peter saw this,

he answered the people,

"Men of Israel,

why are you amazed

at this.

Or why do you stare

at us,

as if by our own power

or godliness

we had made him walk?

¹³ The God

of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

the God

of our fathers,

has glorified His servant Jesus,

whom you delivered and denied

in the presence

of Pilate,

when he had decided

to release Him.

¹⁴ But you denied the Holy and Righteous One

and asked for a murderer

to be given

to you,

¹⁵ and you killed the Author

of life,

whom God raised

from the dead,

of which we are witnesses.

¹⁶ By faith

in the name

of Jesus,

this man

whom you see and know

was strengthened.

The faith

that comes

through Him

has given him this perfect health

in the presence

of all of you.

¹⁷ And now,

brothers,

I know that you acted

in ignorance,

just as your rulers also did.

¹⁸ But what God announced before

by the mouth

of all the prophets,

that His Christ would suffer,

He has thus fulfilled.

¹⁹ Therefore,

repent and turn back,

so that your sins may be wiped out,

so that times of refreshing may come

from the presence

of the Lord,

²⁰ and He may send Jesus,

the Christ

who has been appointed

for you,

²¹ whom heaven must receive

until the times

of restoration

of which God spoke

by the mouth

of His holy prophets

from ancient times.

²² Moses said,

'The Lord

your God

will raise up

for you

a Prophet like me

from your brethren.

You must listen

to Him

in everything He will say to you.

²³ And it will be

that everyone

who does not listen

to that prophet

will be utterly destroyed

from among the people.'

²⁴ Indeed,

all the prophets,

from Samuel and his successors onward,

who have spoken,

also announced these days.

²⁵ You are the sons

of the prophets

and of the covenant

that God made with your fathers,

saying

to Abraham,

'And in your seed

all the families

of the earth

will be blessed.'

²⁶ God raised up His Servant

and sent Him

first to bless you

by turning each one

of you

from your wicked ways."

Chapter Four

Peter and John Arrested

¹ As they were speaking

to the people,

the priests,

the captain

of the temple guard,

and the Sadducees

came up to them,

² being greatly disturbed

because they were teaching

the people

and proclaiming

in Jesus

the resurrection

from the dead.

³ They laid hands on them

and put them in jail

until the next day,

for it was already evening.

⁴ But many

of those

who heard the message

believed,

and the number

of the men

came to about five thousand.

Peter Preaches to the Sanhedrin

⁵ On the next day,

their rulers, elders, and scribes gathered together

in Jerusalem,

⁶ with Annas

the high priest,

Caiaphas,

John,

and Alexander,

and all who were of high-priestly family.

⁷ When they had placed them in the center,

they inquired,

"By what power,

or in what name,

have you done this?"

⁸ Then Peter,

filled with the Holy Spirit,

said

to them,

"Rulers and elders

of the people,

⁹ if we are being examined

today

for a good work done

to a sick man,

by what means this man has been healed,

¹⁰ let it be known

to all of you

and to all the people

of Israel,

that by the name of Jesus Christ

the Nazarene,

whom you crucified,

whom God raised from the dead

by this One,

this man stands here before you healthy.

¹¹ This One is the stone

which was rejected

by you builders,

who has become the cornerstone.

¹² There is salvation

in no one else,

for there is no other name

under heaven

given among men

by which we must be saved."

Sanhedrin Commands Peter to Preach No More

¹³ When they observed the confidence

of Peter and John

and realized

that they were uneducated

and untrained men,

they were amazed

and that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴ And seeing the man,

who had been healed,

standing with them,

they had nothing to say.

¹⁵ Having ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin,

they conferred with one another,

¹⁶ saying,

"What should we do with these men?

For an obvious sign,

apparent to all

who live in Jerusalem,

has taken place

through them,

and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷ But so that it will not spread

any further

among the people,

let us threaten them

to speak no longer

to any man in this name."

¹⁸ When they summoned them,

they commanded them

not to speak

nor teach

at all

in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them,

"Whether it is right

in the sight of God

to listen to you

rather than to God,

you be the judge,

²⁰ for we are not able

to stop speaking

about what we have seen and heard."

²¹ Having threatened them further,

they let them go,

finding no way to punish them,

because the people were all glorifying God

for what had happened,

²² for the man,

on whom this miracle

of healing

had been performed,

was more than forty years old.

Apostles' Prayer for Boldness

²³ After they were released,

they went

to their own

and reported all

that the chief priests and the elders

had said to them.

²⁴ When they heard this,

they lifted their voices

to God

with one accord

and said,

"O Lord,

it is You

who made the heaven,

the earth,

the sea,

and all things in them.

²⁵ You spoke

by the Holy Spirit,

by the mouth of our father David

Your servant,

'Why did the nations rage,

and the peoples plan futile things?

²⁶ 'The kings

of the earth

took their stand,

and the rulers were gathered

against the Lord

and against His Christ.'

²⁷ For truly

in this city

both Herod and Pontius Pilate,

along with the Gentiles

and the peoples of Israel,

were gathered together

against Your holy servant

Jesus,

whom You anointed,

²⁸ to do whatever Your hand

and Your purpose predetermined

to happen.

²⁹ And now,

Lord,

look at their threats,

and enable Your slaves

to speak Your word

with all boldness,

³⁰ while You stretch out Your hand

for healing, signs, and wonders take place

through the name

of Your holy servant Jesus."

³¹ When they had prayed,

the place

where they were assembled

was shaken,

and they were all filled

with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak the word

of God

with boldness.

The Church Sharing

³² The multitude

of those

who believed

were of one heart and soul,

and not one said

that anything belonging to him

was his own,

but all things were held in common.

³³ With great power,

the apostles were giving testimony

to the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus,

and great grace was upon them all.

³⁴ For there was not a needy person

among them.

For those

who owned land or houses

would sell them

and bring the proceeds

of the sales

³⁵ and laid them at the apostles' feet,

and it was distributed

to each as anyone had need.

³⁶ Joseph,

a Levite

from Cyprus,

called Barnabas

by the apostle,

which translated means Son of Encouragement,

³⁷ sold land he owned,

brought the money

and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Chapter Five

Ananias and Sapphira Lie to the Holy Spirit

¹ A man named Ananias,

with Sapphira his wife,

sold a piece of property,

² and kept back part

of the money

for himself,

with his wife's full knowledge,

brought a portion of it,

and laid it at the apostles' feet.

³ Peter said,

"Ananias,

why has Satan filled your heart

to lie to the Holy Spirit

and to keep back some

of the money

from the land?

⁴ Did it not remain your own

before it was sold?

And after it was sold,

was it not under your control?

Why is it

that you have planned this deed

in your heart?

You have not lied

to men

but to God."

⁵ When Ananias heard these words,

he fell down and died,

and great fear came over

all who heard of it.

⁶ The young men got up

and wrapped him in a shroud,

carried him out,

and buried him.

⁷ About three hours later,

his wife came in,

not knowing what had happened.

⁸ Peter asked her,

"Tell me whether you sold the land

for so much?"

She said,

"Yes,

for so much."

⁹ Then Peter said

to her,

"Why did you agree

together

to test the Spirit

of the Lord?

Look,

the feet

of those

who have buried your husband

are at the door,

and they will carry you out

as well."

¹⁰ Immediately,

she fell down

at his feet

and died.

The young men came in,

found her dead,

they carried her out,

and buried her

beside her husband.

¹¹ Great fear came over the whole church,

and over all who heard these things.

Miracles through the Apostles

¹² Many signs and wonders were taking place

among the people,

by the hands

of the apostles

and they were all with one accord

in Solomon's Colonnade.

¹³ None

of the rest

dared to join them,

however,

the people praised them highly.

¹⁴ Multitudes

of men and women

believed in the Lord

and were added

to their number.

¹⁵ They carried the sick out

into the streets

and laid them on cots and pallets,

so that when Peter came by

at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

¹⁶ Also a multitude

from the cities

around Jerusalem

were coming together,

bringing people

who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits,

who were all being healed.

Apostles Freed from Prison

¹⁷ The high priest rose up,

along with all his associates

(being a sect of the Sadducees),

and